FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Kay Donaldson, Program Director
PHONE: 256.350.3500 / 855.9FISHAL
EMAIL: kay@alabamabasstrail.org
Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series Sells Out, Breaks Registration Record
North and south divisions sell out with a total of 450 teams.
Decatur, Ala. (August 16, 2019) – Tournament officials announce registration is closed for the 2020 Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series (ABTTS), with all 450 of the available boat entries in the north and south divisions selling out in a record 17 hours. The 2020 tournament series gets underway February 22.
Registration for the 2020 tournament series opened to the public August 15, 2019. The south division reached its limit in three hours after opening to the public and registration for the north division closed in 17 hours. In 2019, registration was full for the south division in 22 hours and in 38 days for the north division.
“Wow is about all I can say. Those who know me know that I am not a person of few words, but on Thursday, August 15, that was the only word I could say as the day progressed and registrations quickly rolled in,” said Kay Donaldson, program director for the Alabama Bass Trail. “Our team is so humbled by the confidence the anglers have shown in us. We will work extremely hard to provide them with a quality tournament experience.”
According to Donaldson, teams will be traveling from 10 states, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Missouri ad California to compete in the 2020 tournament series. The Alabama Bass Trail creates an estimated economic impact of $4 million dollars for the state of Alabama annually.
Sanctioned by BASS (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society), the ABT Tournament Series contains two divisions, North and South, and each division is made up of five tournaments on five different lakes. The maximum number of boats for each tournament is 225. Teams must fish in all five tournaments in their respective division.
Dates and locations for the 2020 tournament series are as follows:
North Division:
February 22, 2020 Lake Guntersville / hosted by Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau
March 21, 2020 Smith Lake / hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of Walker County
April 18, 2020 Neely Henry Lake / hosted by City of Gadsden
May 16, 2020 Weiss Lake / hosted by City of Leesburg
June 13, 2020 Wheeler Lake / hosted by Decatur Morgan County Tourism
South Division:
February 29, 2020 Lake Jordan / hosted by the City of Wetumpka
March 28, 2020 Lay Lake / hosted by Shelby County Commission
April 25, 2020 Lake Eufaula / hosted by Eufaula-Barbour Chamber of Commerce
May 9, 2020 Logan Martin Lake / hosted by Pell City Chamber of Commerce
June 20, 2020 Alabama River/Cooter’s Pond / hosted by City of Prattville Parks and Recreation
Hosted by Alexander City Chamber of Commerce, the championship tournament will be held October 23-24, 2020, on Lake Martin at Wind Creek State park in Alexander City, Ala.
The no-entry fee championship event will include up to 185 boats. The 185 boats are comprised of the 10 divisional tournament winning teams, top 75 teams in points from both divisions that fished all five events in their respective divisions, along with the top 15 student boats, top five college teams and the top five couples teams collectively from both divisions that fished all five events in their respective division.
Each regular season tournament features a $10,000 guaranteed first place prize and pays 40 places totaling over $47,000. The winning team of the no-entry fee championship walks away with a $50,00 cash payout, and there is a $5,000 bonus cash prize for Angler of the Year and $2,500 for runner-up Angler of the Year. According to Donaldson, over $580,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded when the ABT Tournament Series wraps up its season in 2020.
2020 Payout Schedule:
First place $10,000
Second place $ 5,000
Third place $ 4,000
Fourth place $ 3,000
Fifth place $ 2,000
Sixth place $ 1,500
Seventh place $ 1,100
Eighth place $ 1,100
Ninth place $ 1,100
Tenth place $ 1,100
11th – 20th $ 750 each
21st – 40th $ 500 each
2020 Championship Payout:
First place $50,000
Second place $10,000
Third place $ 5,000
Fourth place $ 4,000
Fifth place $ 3,000
Sixth place $ 2,500
Seventh place $ 2,200
Eighth place $ 2,000
Ninth place $ 1,800
Tenth place $ 1,500
11th-15th $ 1,200 each
16th-25th $ 1,100 each
Big Fish $500 daily
ABT Tournament sponsors include Phoenix Bass Boats; Bill Penney Toyota; Alabama Tourism Department; America’s First Federal Credit Union; Academy Sports & Outdoors; Garmin; T-H Marine Supplies, Inc.; Alabama Power Company; Buffalo Rock, Inc.; Jack’s; Wedowee Marine; Lews Fishing; FishNeelyHenry.com; Power-Pole; Big Bite Baits; YETI and Hydrowave. Angler’s Channel will film and produce the Alabama Bass Trail television series for Fox Sports Southeast and Southern Stream Live will continue the live-streaming and video production services.
For more information, call Donaldson at 855.934.7425 or visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.
About Alabama Bass Trail
The Alabama Bass Trail is a program of the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association. Its mission is to promote Alabama as a year-round fishing destination, to preserve natural resources for generations to come, and to educate high school and college-aged students to be good stewards of natural resources. The 13 bass fishing lakes consist of Lake Guntersville, Wheeler Lake, Pickwick Lake, Lewis Smith Lake, Neely Henry Lake, Weiss Lake, Lake Martin, Lay Lake, Logan Martin Lake, Lake Jordan, Alabama River, Lake Eufaula, and the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta. For more information, visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.
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The Alabama Bass Trail is a program of the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association.
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